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Weekly Classes

I've been a member of Peggy's classes for several years now. The classes are juicy and rich, nurturing both the intellect and the spirit. Coming to class each week is like slipping into a hot bath.

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Peggy’s workshop prompts are like little sparks. Sometimes they illuminate an idea, a character or a setting that I develop later. Sometimes they set off a big blaze of a scene that goes straight from my class notebook into a piece and is published without changing one word. I am always amazed by how many sections of my book and my stories can be traced back to their origin in a ClarityWorks group.

Valerie Ann Leff
Class participant for over six years. Valerie has published short stories in The Antioch Review, The South Carolina Review and other journals. Her 2004 novel, Better Homes and Husbands, is optioned for a television serial by NBC.

How I love our circle. I'm finding a new and different writer-self in me, reclaiming something dormant and sleeping…. I see clearly that to be without a circle of women is to be deprived. The fulfillment and the soft love for each other becomes my spiritual food and mends my hermit self.

Annie Miracle
Class participant through 2006, Annie is a writer and writing teacher who studied with Natalie Goldberg.

Peggy’s writing prompts drop me down into my unconscious where all the rich fertile soil of my life lies waiting to be mined, brought up into the light clothed in startling new words. Over the years of exploring my own unique images and ways of expressing, my writer’s voice has become more powerful and clear. Peggy’s gentle support to me and all of us who come to her class has enabled me to trust my voice, and feel safe enough to speak it to others. I have taken up my book again, rewrote it and am more than half finished. I intend to have it completed this year!

Looking back, I see how I have grown, not only in writing, but in healing, in awareness, in laughter and tears which are shared with the others in community as we read today’s thoughts, right here, right now, one word at a time.

Ginger Graziano
A class participant for more than 3 years, Ginger is completing a memoir and writing poetry. Her creative efforts in writing have spilled over into her passion for painting.

A sisterhood of writers is an affirmative hug from the muse; the writing space contains the gamut of so many emotions, love, hate, despair, jealousy, confusion...where else could you meet as many characters as you do in a writing group? "

Alice O. Johnson
Class and retreat participant since 2003, Alice's work has appeared in the O. Henry Festival of Short Stories, The Crucible, Pembroke Magazine, The Guilford Review, and two anthologies, I Thought My Father Was God, edited by Paul Auster and Alice Redux: Tales of Alice in Wonderland and Lewis Carroll.

The joy of your class, for me, is that we are there to craft, but also to free up, to be brave and go into the depths, to live without judgment because that's where the real work is living. The classes are about creating a space and welcoming the writers to explore. The class is a jungle, a motel room, an island, a Victorian living room, a forest, a waterfall, a city, a color, a word, a name.

Lis Anna
A film director, writer and producer with numerous credits and awards, in 2006, Lis Anna won 2nd place in the Thomas Wolfe Fiction Contest, 4th place the New Century Writers Short Fiction Contest and 1st place in the 11th Annual Poet Hunt contest

The writing class has given me an opportunity, through Peggy's sweet and gentle ministrations, to find that place in me that jumps out of the mind and connects to the whole. I think of it as a doorway I can step through to the other side, where my better writing is.

Kelle Olwyler
Class and retreat participant more than four years. A songwriter and fiction writer, Kelle is a former corporate Coach. She co-authored of Paradoxical Thinking.

Retreats in General

I appreciate the one-on-one with Peggy. It’s valuable time and a gift of the retreat. I pay attention to her advice and move from it to action. I respect and value her as a mentor/teacher and friend. Somehow she makes it possible to know the boundaries of those roles.

Kathy Sievert, Washington
Former teacher and writer for the Peninsula Daily News, Sequim, Kathy attended Lake Logan 2005 and Port Townsend 2006 retreats.

Peggy teaches about writing and courage. I think this is exactly the point of departure for writers. When we accept the scary parts of our writing self, a whole new world opens up, and there's no cheaper way to travel.

Alice Johnson, North Carolina
Class participant and participant at Seabrook, 2006, Alice is completing a novel. Alice' work has appeared in the O. Henry Festival of Short Stories, The Crucible, Pembroke Magazine, The Guilford Review, and two anthologies. I Thought My Father Was God, edited by Paul Auster and Alice Redux: Tales of Alice in Wonderland and Lewis Carroll.

I strongly feel/think/believe Group Writing and Reading is a good way to jump start our writing, get juices flowing, bump us out of our comfort zone, stimulate new ideas, provide positive reinforcement, and is a great place for learning.

Heloise Jones, North Carolina
Class participant since 2003 and participant at Seabrook 2005 and Port Townsend 2006

Montreat Retreat

It is time to live as big as I can. And it is time to write as big as I can, even if it’s clumsy and awkward and lumbering: a giant of ungainly words. I have a truth inside me I want to express, a special truth that only I can tell. We all do. That’s why we write. And this realization is the great gift that Peggy’s ClarityWorks retreat has given me—and continues to give me.

Cheryl Dietrich, North Carolina
A four-year class and participant at Montreat 2004-6 and Seabrook 2006. Her nonfiction essay “Zagreb” was published by The Gettysburg Review, Spring, 2006. She’s also published articles locally and had a short story in Mudrock Stories and Tales.

What a journey of self-discovery in the most perfect setting imaginable. Watching my classmates also reach down and find their child-like imagination and let it out to play was joyous and inspiring.

Cindy Lane, Virginia
A 2006 participant who is completing a mystery.

The way Peggy structured the daily routine, combined with her teaching, led me to some of the most creative, inspired and imaginative moments I’ve experienced in my writing.

Becca Groves, Minnesota
A 2006 participant who is collecting and writing family stories to celebrate her grandmother’s 90th birthday in 2007.

I accomplished the writing I came to do in a new-found powerful voice. I came away feeling satisfied in every way—I expressed myself in a community of women, felt refreshed, and exercised.

Kimberly Childs, North Carolina
A class and retreat participant for four years, Kimberly is completing a memoir. In a previous life, she was a cook in a vegetarian restaurant and an artist of art quilts.

Lake Logan Retreat

The energy of shared passion and bringing passion to the page. This is what part of the Lake Logan experience has been for me. And then there’s Peggy, with her calm and easy presence sharing her wisdom and insights, always supportive, always available when we exude through the experience of putting pen to paper or when we crash in self-doubt with demons wild….I have no idea if anything I write will ever be published. Right now it’s not even a goal. All I know is what a difference writing practice has made in my life. That alone is THE greatest gift.

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This is what this sacred circle helped me do—help a beginner begin. The principles were simple: Keep your pen moving, your heart open, your belly soft, kill the “editor,” and support the collective.

Betsy Fletcher, Washington
Participant at Lake Logan 2004-2006, Seabrook 2006 and Port Townsend 2006. Her poem “Passion” was published by Rapid River Magazine in 2006.

..how my writing life has changed since our weekend at Lake Logan... I can still feel the peace and beauty of our circle... The writing woman—her heart may break, she may cry out in the pain of her labor, she may even bleed but finally in divine quiet, she will settle back with her sisters in the word and laugh from her gut.

Kathy Godfrey, North Carolina
Kathy teaches English and attends classes and retreats when she can work it into her schedule which also includes writing a novel.

Fall Lake Logan retreat was my second retreat with Peggy (my first was Seabrook last spring), and it was fabulous.  I feel that during these retreats my writing moves up a notch--I trust my own voice more, go deeper, and produce.  The retreats are also an amazing way to feel a part of a community of women who write!

Katherine Johnson
Katherine is a life coach living on the east coast of Maryland.  She is working on a memoir of her trip to Afghanistan in the 1970s.

I will always remember this time as a sacred circle, one in which I took a leap of faith and began to call myself a writer. No matter where this leads, I have found a way to begin and friends to share the journey.

Pat Jones, North Carolina
Pat Jones came to her first retreat in 2006 and immediately signed up for a class and a second retreat. She has written sermons and other nonfiction in her role as an Episcopal priest and active member of her Diocese. Now she is ready to venture into family stories and fiction.

The Fearless Writing Retreat at Lake Logan (June) lifted me out of my busy everyday life, and gently transported me to the shore of a serene mountain lake.  My only task for three days was to do what I had been longing to find the time and inspiration for--to write.  What more could an aspiring author desire?

Sue Larmon
Sue Larmon teaches French in Western North Carolina.  She is writing a historical novel based on letters from a 19th century German relative.  She has attended Tell It like It Is and the June Lake Logan  retreat.

I want to let you know how rich, inspiring, nurturing the retreat was.  I love your facilitation style, your ability to bring out our best into such a safe space and just love who shows up to play with you!

Corrie Woods, North Carolina
A 2-time Lake Logan attendee, Corrie is also a life coach and poet.

Seabrook Island Retreat

I’ve attended several retreats with Peggy, both in NC and across the country. Her format is perfect in every way for supporting the writer's process, offering much more than a "room of my own." Each morning we get the juices flowing with Group Writes from prompts and guided exercises, allowing us to suspend judgment and move out of expectations. The feedback I've received from the other participants has been vital in giving me perspective on my writing while providing needed encouragement in those moments of doubt. I like that there are a mix of writers at all levels of experience delving into their process, making my experience richer.

At Seabrook Island I produced two short stories that I'm developing into screenplays and a short story that evolved into a novel now in progress. The Port Townsend retreat allowed me to immerse myself in my creative process and accelerated my momentum toward my writing goals. Not only did I write pivotal scenes for my novel, but I gained clarity on the characters and the essential format of my book. I also wrote two poems and have the seeds of inspiration for two short stories that I can refine for publication.

I will be attending more retreats with Peggy. I consider them essential in any writer's toolbox.

Heloise Jones, North Carolina
Class participant since 2003 and participant at Seabrook 2005 and Port Townsend 2006

Olympic Peninsula Retreat

I loved the program of prompts from readings of poetry ...and the reading after each prompt. If I was able to write something during the group write, I was even more able to write a piece during the afternoon "free" time. I learned so much from each and every participant. I am bowled over with the blessings of many wonderful writing personalities voicing their works in my presence.

Elizabeth Moreskine, California

In earlier years, Elizabeth was a concert pianist. Now she is an artist, poet, and writer, working primarily on a children's story. She attended the 2006 Olympic Peninsula retreat and has received coaching from Peggy.

Individualized Programs

My experience in finding you and getting here has been more intuitive than practical. It was a perfect result. My internal barometer has been humming approval since our first meeting. My passion for my project has been renewed. I was at a fork in the road.

Barbara Teller, California
A former director of non-profits and a current art gallery owner, Barbara stayed in Asheville a week for daily coaching on her nonfiction book.

In navigating through the choppy waters of book writing, I could not have continued my journey without Peggy Millin. For two and a half years, I have sent her chapters of my manuscript to read and critique. When the two of us meet every month or two she points out where I can add or subtract, where I can re-word and clarify. She gives me invaluable feedback. Above all she has affirmed my writing and has made me feel it's worthwhile to keep on keeping on. Our regular meetings have held me accountable and helped me to stay focused. I always feel good about my writing after our consultation together.

Martha Jane Petersen, North Carolina
For 35 plus years Martha Jane Petersen has written articles, pamphlets, poems, essays, studies, and the book God's Fire: A Personal Journey, primarily for the Presbyterian Church, USA. She is presently working on a memoir of her journey into art. She is an ordained Presbyterian minister with a BA, a BS in Nursing, Doctor of Ministry and Masters of Theology degrees.